Arrod Berjis Says $58,000 College Fund Vanished With Carvana Repossession
A 17-year-old Los Angeles high school senior lost his four years of savings after a car he bought with a clear-looking title was repossessed.
By Javier Sanders ·
Arrod Berjis, 17, saved for four years of high school to buy a 2019 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG listed on Autotrader for $58,000, planning to repair it and resell it to fund college.
Berjis said he took the seller to the DMV before paying, where a clerk told him multiple times there was no lien on the vehicle. The title he received from the DMV and a Carfax report he pulled both showed no lien holder. He bought the car and spent three months repairing it.
He then lined up a buyer willing to pay $75,000. The night before the sale, the car disappeared. Berjis contacted the Los Angeles Police Department, which directed him to a towing company. There he learned the vehicle had been repossessed. The tow operator told him, "they basically told me that 'we were ordered to take this car by Carvana.'" He also said his original title was taken when he returned to the DMV seeking answers.
Berjis said he was told that when a title transfers, prior paperwork can be overlooked, allowing a new title to issue even if a lien was never released. "He told me that sometimes when a title is transferred, the previous paperwork can be overlooked. And a lien can be released, and a DMV title can be issued to you, but it's void and invalid now because of that mistake. Mistake or potentially fraud," Berjis said. The DMV said it could not comment because the matter is an open investigation. Carvana had not responded to requests for comment. The LAPD is investigating, but Berjis said the seller's identity and documents turned out to be fake, limiting what investigators can do. Berjis said he hopes Carvana will return the vehicle or reimburse the $58,000. "It was a big amount of money that I had saved up over the last four years of high school, which was, you know, all meant to go to the goal of going to college and so that was the end game for it and it will definitely delay that and hold it back," he said.
The LAPD investigation remains open. Berjis said he has not recovered the vehicle or the money.
